ALLEN PARK — Most defensive ends grow to dislike, and yes, even hate quarterbacks. It’s just the nature of their job. Snap after snap.

Ziggy Ansah is not like most defensive ends.

“Hate? I don’t know if I want to use the word hate cause you can’t concentrate if you hate somebody. You’ve got to love them. If you love somebody you want to grab them (puts arms out). I love quarterbacks,’’ Ansah said at his introductory Detroit Lions press conference on Friday.

He’s got a sense of humor developed somewhere between his home country of Ghana and his adopted recent home of Provo, Utah.

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Ansah, who played at BYU, was the Lions’ first-round draft pick on Thursday night. An intriguing pick because he just started playing football in 2010 which means he’s donned pads for just three seasons, one as a starter.

“Don’t mistake inexperience for instinctive because he has very, very good football instincts and he’s still new to the game,’’ Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “Probably the best thing we went through is getting to know him as a person — the right kind of guy for Detroit, hard-working humble guy that respects the game and respects what it takes to get here.’’

Schwartz and his staff got to know Ansah well when they coached him at the Senior Bowl.

If Ansah has heard the criticism that he’s a boom or bust type of player he said he doesn’t pay attention.

His mind is set. He’s driven. He’s his own man.

Ansah has been compared to Jean Pierre-Paul, a defensive end for the New York Giants, who was drafted in the first round in 2010. Ansah said he was able to meet Pierre-Paul, who he respects, in New York at the draft.

“I’m coming to just be myself, I’m not trying to play like somebody else. I want people to say that I want to play like Ziggy, so I’m just here to set my own standards,’’ Ansah said.

His mother Betty and two cousins were at the press conference as he explained how his family’s support has meant so much to him.

“My success doesn’t only go to coach (Bronco) Mendenhall. I’ve got a great family that’s been supportive since Day One. I’ve got really good friends and teammates in Utah, who helped me put on my pads from Day One, explain the game to me and the support I had back in Utah was just great,’’ Ansah said.

“I can’t just say coach Mendenhall was the only one who did it. He was the one who said yes to me when I wanted to start this game. He definitely deserves some credit. I love him.’’

When he arrived at BYU in 2008, Ansah’s goal was to play basketball. He wanted to be a power forward in the mold of LeBron James. He’d never seen a football game.

He tried out twice for the BYU basketball team and didn’t make the cut.

“One thing I do when I go back to Utah I’m going to go to Coach (Dave) Rose, the head basketball coach, and thank him so much for not letting me play,’’ Ansah said with a smile.

If he would have made the basketball team, he wouldn’t be an NFL defensive end today.

Mendenhall, the BYU coach, gave him the chance. Not just as a nice guy but because he saw something in Ansah, something good.

“The potential is unlimited. He’s fast enough, he’s quick enough, he’s strong enough, he’s a hard enough worker, he retains information well enough,’’ Mendenhall said in a conference call on Friday. “He’s consistent enough on and off the field that there’s really no down side.’’

And then there’s the person.

At the podium Ansah displayed his dry wit cracking up the sometimes cynical Lions’ media contingent.

Mendenhall said Ansah, who earned a degree in actuarial science, has an excellent sense of humor and loves practical jokes.

“He’s playful at heart, but he’s also very bright and cerebral with his math and statistics. He’s very faith oriented, strong morals, strong values. He’s also youthful where he loves to have a good time,’’ Mendenhall said.

“For the families in Detroit that are looking for a great role model and a great person I think he’ll endear himself to the community and they’ll become enthralled and really love him.’’